1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a conveyor comprising a trigger pedal for a separator stop.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conveyors are commonly used for the storage of pallets or boxes in gravity or dynamic storage. Dynamic storage facilities are made of chutes fitted with rollers or cylinders mounted parallel to one another on beams forming a frame which is tilted from its upstream to its downstream section. These rollers and/or cylinders determine a raceway on which the loads, generally handling pallets, are placed for storage.
In order to suppress the problems associated with the extraction of the loads located at the lower portion of the storage chute, and notably that of the pressure exerted onto the end load by the accumulation of the upstream loads, a load separator device is commonly used at the level of the downstream end of the chute. This device is suited to isolate at least the first load, located downstream on the facility, with respect to the other loads which are waiting upstream, in order to allow smooth extraction of this first load, without causing any problems, using for instance a fork lift.
These separator devices comprise a pedal and a stop, interconnected by a pole or a tie-shaped linking rod as coupling. The pedal has been accommodated at the end of the chute and is designed to be actuated by the downstream load. The stop is used to retain the upstream loads in order to separate them from the load located at the downstream end. This stop is brought into active separating position by the pedal when the latter is actuated by the end downstream load and it is deactuated when said downstream load is removed. The removal allows the following load take its place at the end of the chute and actuates, in turn, the pedal as well as the retaining stop for the other loads.
The trigger pedal is movable between its active and its triggered position and needs to be sturdily build to stay functional during long term use.
The document EP 1 897 823 describes a trigger pedal for a conveyor consisting of three rollers mounted in a pivotable pedal frame. In the triggered position, the pedal frame is aligned parallel to and in the frame formed by the beams of the conveyor, while the three rollers of the trigger pedal are aligned parallel to the other rollers of the conveyor. The trigger pedal is movable into its active position in that the pedal frame is pivoted diagonal to the conveying direction so that the three rollers of the trigger pedal stay parallel to the other rollers, but protrude over the other rollers. The pedal frame together with the three rollers form an element sturdy enough to endure the stress of loads pushing the trigger pedal down. This trigger pedal consists of a plurality of different components.
It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative and improved trigger pedal for a separator stop of a conveyor.